January February 2021 College News

FACULTY ACCOLADES Jasmine Austin and Elizabeth Eger received a $16,000 REP grant for their project, “Examining Leadership Communication of Texas Small Businesses in a Global Pandemic.” Steve Beebe may have retired, but he is far from finished. Steve recently published the 3rd edition of his book Training and Development: Enhancing Talent for the 21st Century . [ 1 ] He also presented a webinar for the Training and Development Division of the National Communication Association. Michael Burns finalized a partnership between the Communication Studies Career Readiness program and Austin operations management and emergency services company Code 4 on an exclusive graduate internship experience. Code 4 provides comprehensive health and safety services for a number of clients across the country. Code 4 has also been providing COVID-19 services including testing, vaccination, and sanitation to help many industries navigate the pandemic. Dr. Burns worked with M.A. alum Jonathan Alba , Code 4's Chief Operating Officer, to create this internship opportunity. Stephanie Dailey published “A comparison of social media behaviors between sexual minorities and heterosexual individuals” in Computers in Human Behavior . She also published “Examining how sexual identity, psychosocial factors, and organizational differences relate to intent-to- quit in a large-scale, cross-sectional study” in the Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services . Elizabeth Eger published "Visibility and vulnerability in online marketing practices" in the Journal of Cultural 1 2 3 Steve Beebe's recently published book, Training and Development: Enhancing Talent for the 21st Century Senior Lecturer and expert on Emotional Intelligence, Dr. Cassandra LeClair M.A. student and presenter, Goyland Williams 6 | January & February | College News COMMUNICATION STUDIES Communication Studies, Health Communication, Interpersonal Communication, Leadership Studies, Organizational Communication, Persuasive Communication, Political Communication, & Teacher Certif ication in Communication Studies Manusheela Pokharel published a new article titled "Does it matter if a story character lives or dies? A message experiment comparing survivor and death narratives" in the journal Psychology & Health . #FACULTYSPOTLIGHT Economy . Elizabeth welcomed six visiting scholars to her COMM 5319: Organizational Communication graduate seminar. M.A. students read publications by the visiting scholar and discussed research, practice, and engagement. Visiting scholars included: Dr. Angela Gist-Mackey (University of Kansas), Dr. Stan Deetz (University of Colorado Boulder), Dr. J. Kevin Barge (Texas A&M), Dr. Rahul Mitra (Wayne State), and Texas State’s own Jasmine Austin and Stephanie Dailey. Elizabeth was also invited to join the Editorial Board of the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships . Kristen Farris worked with Michael Burns to present a workshop to the HR team at Texas State about improving the culture of health through supportive and confirming communication. Dr. Tricia Burke and M.A. student Luke Dye also helped to develop asynchronous components of the training. Cassandra LeClair [ 2 ] was interviewed as an expert on Emotional Intelligence for Authority Magazine and Thrive Global . Josh Miller received an $8,000 REP grant for his project “Queering the Dream: Bayard Rustin, Sexuality, and the 1960s Civil Rights Movement.” STUDENT ACCOLADES The Communication Studies Graduate Association held a virtual event about how to submit papers to academic conferences. The event was entitled "Submitting to NCA & Beyond!" and several faculty members shared their advice with graduate students about how to submit and how to make the best out of a conference experience. M.A. student Leela Schooler designed and presented a training to over 50 undergraduate students for the College of Fine Arts and Communication | 7 Student Learning Assistance Center and Veteran's Academic Success Center on "Identifying Presenteeism and Embracing Crystallization in Work-Life." Leela shared the culmination of her research on student worker work-life in Elizabeth K. Eger's Organizational Communication and Work, Identity, and Difference graduate seminars. Dr. Eger joined Leela's training as a guest presenter. DEPARTMENT ACCOLADES The Department of Communication Studies hosted the final fall semester faculty-led event in an ongoing series that focuses upon scholarship and practice addressing Diversity and Inclusion. This event featured three student performances from members of the Elton Abernathy Forensics Society. Johnny Vasallo performed Angel Rodriguez’s “Hope and Glory.” Ashton Rios interpreted a selection of pieces that examined the “Trans Panic Defense” and its implications for the trans community. Finally, Noemi Rivera provided a reading of “Pastels and Crayons” by Aleeza Kasmil, which posits that racism is subtly, yet deliberately, being perpetuated by parents. These pieces examined the implications of diversity and inclusion in a variety of contexts. The first event of the spring semester will be “The Language of Policy and Privilege: The Difficult Conversations that we Need but are Afraid to Have” with presenters Dillon Nettles and M.A. student Goyland Williams . [ 3] The Career Readiness Program, led by Dr. Michael Burns , hosted several events during the fall semester, all featuring Texas State Alumni. For more information on the Career Readiness Program, click here. December featured the Career Readiness cohort’s final Career Pathway presentations via Zoom. The Pathway Presentation is an opportunity for the